Yahoo Autos The Camless Engine of the Future May Soon Appear in a Small Chinese Sedan
Christian von Koenigsegg is a visionary, a man that doesn't think like anyone else. While everyone believes gravity pulls you to the Earth, he believes there's a pushing force that keeps us on the ground. He's a wizard with carbon fiber. And he also owns a company called Freevalve, which is developing the internal combustion engine of the future.
The idea behind Freevalve is to eliminate the camshaft from the engine and replace it with pneumatic valves. That gives the engine the closest possibly thing to a square cam profile. That means that valves are either open or closed, creating the most efficient powertrain possible. It also allows for independent control of the valves and cylinders. Sometimes all the valves open, sometimes half, sometimes all the cylinders fire, sometimes one or two don't. At low revs, it can be a two stroke to provide better response.
It's an entirely new way of thinking.
A couple of years ago, I had the chance to ride with Christian von Koenigsegg in a Saab that had a prototype of a Freevalve engine. It felt distinctly like a car. It didn't feel odd. Koenigsegg was also very proud of the fact that the Freevalve engine could run on gas or diesel. Not at the same time, but it could have two separate tanks or another solution to make that work. Koenigsegg thinks this is the next step to prolong the life of the gas engine, not keep it from going extinct.
And it seems Qoros thinks the same way. Their concept car, dubbed "Qamless," uses the latest generation of Freevalve's engine tech. While it's not ready for production quite yet, it's a sign that the camless engine of the future might not be too far away. And other manufacturers might not be that far behind.
